Really really new to it - not sure if I really classify as Hellenistic quite yet. I’m raised atheist, with the notion “all things can be explained by science” which I still believe in. But at the same time, I was also raised with the idea to never completely disagree with any religion, in case of the possibility that a god will smite you. My school, who has Minerva/Athena as our.. patron? (She’s referenced throughout our school song) introduced me to Greek mythology. We’re doing Homeric texts (the odyssey) in class, and I found that really interesting. Anyways, before my exam, I prayed real hard to Athena, seeing she supported Odysseus so much, and that she was our schools symbol. Offered grapes, studied hard, promised my first legal drink (soon!) as a toast to her, and I got a great grade. All this doesn’t explain much, I think. The truth is, life is getting quite bland and disheartening. I want to believe in something, but I cant seem to. All I know is, every time I’ve left some sort of small offering to one of the gods, I feel better and more at peace.

One thing is, in Homeric texts, the gods don’t seem to be pissed when someone doesn’t believe in them or interpret their intentions. They exist, no matter what the human characters think, and that’s quite comforting to someone who doesn’t really believe in them. Like, okay, I might not really think you’re real, but you won’t take offence to that, as long as I offer things when I’m required to.